The Ready Writer

Have you ever picked up a book and not understood who exactly the narrator was? Better yet, have you tried writing from one perspective, but then you found you couldn’t keep your pronouns straight throughout your work? You’ve guessed it. We’re going to explore writing from different perspectives.

Here’s what you need to know: there are three different perspectives to choose from. When deciding which to use, you must ask yourself who is speaking? Whose voice is telling the story?

1. Writing from First Person

When writing from first person, you must keep in mind that you are writing from your, or a character’s, personal perspective. Pronouns to use include I, me, and myself in the narrative. You should be telling the story as it is happening or as you are recalling the past.

Authors usually write this point of view as the protagonist, a deuteragonist, the observer, and the unreliable narrator (e.g.  Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Captain Marcus in The Thousand Names, Doctor Watson in Sherlock Holmes, and Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye).

Using an observer as a narrator can be tricky at times. Luckily, Novel Writing Help gives a great overview of how to go about this!

2. Writing from Second Person

The second person point of view is the least common and, in my opinion, the hardest to use. Here, authors use pronouns ‘you’ singular and plural. I have to check my own work consistently to make sure I am not substituting ‘I,’ ‘we,’ ‘he/him,’ ‘she/her’, it’ for ‘you.’

Great examples of writing in second person can be found in any set of directions/instructions as well as in poetry. While not as popular in novels/books, you can find second person point of view utilized in The Journey Home by Dermot Bolger. Additionally, the ‘you’ is sometimes implied. See below for an example.

E.g.

Take out the trash and pull the garbage cans to the street.

(You) take out the trash and pull the garbage cans to the street.

3. Writing from Third Person

Last is third person! This is my personal favorite, as it allows authors to have the most freedom/flexibility in their writing. Writing in third person gives the author and readers a more rounded version of the story. Pronouns used here include ‘he/him,’ she/her,’ ‘it,’ and ‘they/their.’

This also includes three separate categories – third person limited, third person multiple, and third person omniscient.

Third person limited follows one character throughout the story. We can see third person limited in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Third person multiple follows – you’ve guessed it, Reader – multiple characters throughout the story. A great example of third person multiple can be seen in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

Third person omniscient is used when the narrator knows everything about everyone. The narrator is, essentially, separated from the story and is not bound by past, present, or future. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglass Adams are great examples of this.

Share Your Thoughts! 

For more information regarding writing perspectives, please see helpful pages like NY Book Editors and The Balance Career’s Story Point of View.

As always, don’t forget to leave a comment and follow my blog and Instagram @thereadywriter.blog. Did you enjoy this post? Did this information help you? Don’t be shy to share your thoughts!

Until next time, Reader.